Tuesday, March 17, 2009

embroider your kids' artwork

My son drew a picture a while ago of a boy picking apples. I saved it, but it is getting a little scrunched. So I found a cheap and easy way to make it last a little longer! It's called an Embroidery Transfer Pencil, and it is a fun, easy way to turn your child's (or your own) artwork into a treasured keepsake.

1. Trace over your drawing with an embroidery transfer pencil. Joann has a lot of options for pencils, and they are only $2-$3. Remember, your image will be transferred in reverse, so avoid images that won't look right backward.

2. Place your paper face down on your fabric and iron with a dry iron.3. If you have an embroidery hoop, put your fabric in it. If not, you can still do it, but it will just be a little less stable when you're stitching. Stitch over the lines of your image, changing colors when necessary.

4. Leave it in the hoop or frame it for an adorable keepsake!

I may try to do some of my kids' art on dishtowels. There are so many possibilities. It is a good way to save your child’s art. Grandparents will love this!

In our family, we use the same kind of idea on the "Thanksgiving Tablecloth" Everyone signs it (with year behind their names) and before we wash it, we embroider the names as they're written. The first year we did it, we used Orange Floss, the next year, Green, then Blue, Purple, Red, Pink, Yellow, Brown, Lavender, and next year will be "Lime Green!" It's such a cool keepsake...but we're running out of room, so it looks like we'll have to start another one here soon! Thanks for sharing this darlin' idea! I think it would be a great gift for Grandparents, and Godparents!

That pencil! I wish I'd had it when I did my own stitched art embroidery (with machine, though). I must procure it ASAP! Thanks for sharing this tip and thank you for all the wonderful ideas on your blog!

My six-year-old drew a picture of her teacher and then embroidered it herself as a Christmas gift for her teacher. We used a the window-as-lightbox-trick to trace her picture onto a piece of muslin. We framed it with a wooden embroidery hoop backed with fabric. It was lovely, especially since she did the stitching as well as the drawing.

My grandmother actually did this for us ( my siblings) when I was growing up.. as soon as we could write our alphabet... we would write it all out- and mail it to her...then she embroidered it and framed it for us and mailed it back. I still treasure it... she died when I was only 5 years old.. so it is a touching memory I have of a grandmother who I didn't see very often.

OH MY GOODNESS! Thank you so much for this! I never in my life would have thought of such an awesome idea! My kids are all older now, but I've saved some of their special pictures they've made...and I even like doing needlework! :)